posted by Anna Fleet on September 29th, 2010
The tale of “Green Jeans”, an inspiring allegory for opening our minds to Green innovation—as an innovative way to grow business and make money, from Dr. Mike Shipulski.
Now, for those who aren’t familiar with the name, Dr. Shipulski is a certified TRIZ practitioner. [Warning: I digress] Yeah, I know, I scratched my head over that one as well. But it turns out that TRIZ is the theory of “inventor’s problem-solving”. Yeah, I was still confused to, so I dug deeper. Well it turns out that TRIZ is a method based on logic and data, not on intuition that’s meant to accelerate creative problem solving. Ok, now I got it.
And you can understand why I (a person interested in design thinking) would listen when a guy like Dr. Shipulski says, “Grab Green by the throat and shake it…before your competitors do…[because] reluctant compliance won’t get us there…”
The overall point is that Green isn’t a passing fancy in business—it’s here to stay, and it expects us to think in new ways that will make us approach business problems differently, looking away from the old tried and true ways we’ve operated with in the past as we learn to develop new products and technologies…sounds a lot like this design thinking biz I’ve been going on about lately doesn’t it?
Read the full story on Green jeans—an earth-friendly product that saves customers time and money while flattering their backsides. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?
Tags: design thinking for business, design thinking strategy, dr mike shipulski TRIZ, earth-friendly design, green innovation
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 27th, 2010
If you’re looking for the secret to business success, forget everything you know!
The Globe and Mail urges us to Harness the Power of Design Thinking by asking us to try approaching problems like a design thinker—and that means without preconceived ideas of solutions and old ways of thinking.
I think they’re onto something here. “It’s about the way designers look at opportunities and problems…they approach [them] more holistically [and] with more intuition and a human dimension. They’re willing to take risks and be more exploratory…It’s about the act of creating something new and original,” says Heather Fraser, Business Design Professor and Director of DesignWorks, at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management.
I know letting go of those traditional ways of doing things isn’t always so easy, but “If you trust your intuition,” says Fraser, “…and be willing to explore the unknown… regardless of discipline…you can think through things faster and more effectively.”
To read the full Globe and Mail article and to learn about some great examples of Canadian Design Thinking at it’s best in companies such as Umbra, Loblaws, Blockbuster, Indigo click the link…
Tags: design thinking for business, design thinking for business success, design thinking strategy, globe and mail design thinking, stages of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 24th, 2010
More and more, business owners are scrambling for innovative ways and ideas to improve business success. Well, Little Retail has done some of the work for you. Watch their helpful and fun “little” video to see the top 5 engaging ideas to help your retail business. You’ll notice that these suggestions fit nicely into our Design Thinking methodology because they focus on engaging your employees—and most importantly, customers!
So in David Letterman fashion…here are five easy and engaging ideas for retail businesses:
5. Feature products your employees love and products they believe in.
4. Merchandise with your brand in mind—promoting your brand ethos
3. Simplify your marketing message.
2. Use color in bold ways = high impact at a low cost and get noticed.
…and drum roll please…
1. It’s all about the customer. Allow them to relax and explore, let them create their own experience, and give them reason to stay and come back (creating brand loyalty).
Tags: customer engagement, design thinking engagement, design thinking methodology, retail employee engagement, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 22nd, 2010
Nicolas Roope, the co-founder of the unconventional English electronics company Hulger, said, “It’s [ironic] that the light bulb, an object so synonymous with ideas, is almost entirely absent of imagination.”
Isn’t this the truth? And what’s more, how can those low energy light bulbs—you know, the spiral-shaped ones created to preserve energy—look so contrived and, well, ugly?
I guess Roope felt the same because he got Hulger straight on it. The company collaborated with designer Sam Wilkinson to create the “world’s first designer low-energy light bulb”, the Plumen.
Now the Plumen, was only released recently (on September 9, 2010) in the UK and Europe so don’t get too excited just yet (but it is rumored to be coming to the North America soon). The Plumen design is pure elegance—two intertwined fluorescent tubes—that use 80 percent less energy than your typical incandescent light bulb. And better yet, Hulger claims one Plumen bulb will last you eight years.
Gorgeous, energy-efficient and robust…an ingenious combination suited to the symbolism of imagination. Bravo! And remember to turn the lights off when you leave the room.
Tags: design thinking strategy, earth-friendly design, energy-efficient design, hulger electronics, plumen light bulb, the power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 20th, 2010
I’m a writer, editor and SEO by profession, I’m not a designer, nor do I claim to be. So I identified quite a lot with Patsy’s Front Studio Blog article, Design Thinking for Non-Designers.
You see Patsy is not a designer like myself, she’s a project manager. And she oftentimes feels like an imposter among the talented group of graphic designers that she works with. However, Patsy recently attended a conference where Marty Neurmeier, the author of the Liquid Brand Exchange blog as well as The Design Company, was a guest speaker. Marty claimed that it’s critical for non-designers, like us, to think like designers—it’s our duty.
It’s a relief really, because in a world where “Designer” often seems like an exclusive club where über-creative types are only allowed in, Marty has shown us that non-designers belong just as mucch with us this Herbert Simon quote, “A designer is anyone who devises ways of changing existing situations into preferred ones”.
So this definition, like Design Thinking inself, welcomes us all with it’s wide reaching, non-exclusive, non-judgmental embrace. You see, being a designer is not only within our human capabilities, it’s our duty.
Tags: design thinking methodology, design thinking process, design thinking strategy, front studio design thinking, Marty neurmeier liquid brand exchange, power of design thinking
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 17th, 2010
Nowadays, companies are looking for inexpensive ways to educate and innovate. The cheaper the better, right? So when I caught wind of this free Webinar series from Interactive Associates—beginning on Wednesday, September 22, 2010, I just had to share it with you.
The LeaderLens series focuses on conversations around design thinking leadership. And in this first Webinar on September 22, guest speaker, Leslie Alfin, a former professor at Parson’s School of Design, and expert in the field of Design Thinking plans to share how mega-companies GE and Proctor & Gamble have used Design Thinking to boost innovation
Sign up for the free LeaderLens Webinar series on the Interaction Associates site.
Tags: design thinking for small business, design thinking leadership, design thinking process, design thinking tips
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 16th, 2010
I was just blown away by this stunning short film, Making Future Magic, after a colleague at work sent it my way (by the way, thanks James).
As a writer I find it fairly easy to describe things. However, after viewing this film I was left speechless. The film itself was created by Creative Communications Agency, Dentsu London, in partnership with BERG Design Consultancy. To the best of my technical comprehension, the film uses photographic and animation techniques to give movement to 3-dimensional typography using an iPad.
I was most struck by the contrast of the “iPad magic” over the various surfaces—especially the water and dark backgrounds in the garden scenes…but that’s enough from me…WATCH IT!
And, for a full technical description of what you just watched go to the Dentsu London blog.
Tags: 3-D animation, 3-dimensional animation, ipad Making future magic, making future magic BERG, making future magic Dentsu London, the power of design thinking, three-D animation
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 15th, 2010
A super cool video from Squid Soup (c/o T2 + Back Alley Films) explores a new experimental design concept called Emergence, which is defined as the by-product of an audience’s interactivity with something that isn’t directly incorporated into the design itself.
Watch the video of the cool interactive installation called Squid Soup to see what I mean. As you watch, think about how people are encouraged to interact and even control the bug’s environment—blocking them off at every turn, constructing obstacles and walls for them to hide behind, and even killing the bugs. Keep in mind that it’s not the bugs and the sand that make up the finished installation on their own; it’s what the people that interact with the piece leave behind (the Emergence) that’s all part of the finished product.
So what does this all mean?
It means that experiential design might just create the closest connection between digital, interactive media and people. And that’s vital to us as marketers. I mean we’re already aware that what your audience takes away from an experience is incredibly important. But, what about what they can contribute back to the experience. Isn’t that equally as important?
In fact, this type of inactive design and the Emergence that comes from it fits very nicely into the Design Thinking methodology that we’ve been talking about over the past month. After all, aren’t we talking about encouraging people to leave behind a history (or rather an energy) of their success as well as their failure as they solve problems, approach life’s obstacles, and innovate?
Tags: design thinking methodology, design thinking process, experiential design, interactive design, t2 + back alley films
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posted by Anna Fleet on September 14th, 2010
When is the last time you had a natural conversation? And by natural I’m talking about talking without the interruptions of a cell phone call, text, tweet or BBM? Let me take that one step further by asking this: How about at work?
I know that we’ve all been guilty of taking an important incoming call or text during a meeting (I know, I have). However, some folks take this a bit too far— to the point of coming off as just rude.
We all know someone who refuses to turn their cell phone off during a meeting, dinners, lunches, their kid’s school play….always set to vibrate and looking under the table so they don’t miss an “important” text.
That’s why an article from today’s Harvard Business Review, by Anthony Tjan, renowned business leader, and CEO and Founder of venture capital, Cue Ball, hit home for me. It really made me ask myself when my last uninterrupted conversation was.
Although it might be difficult to pinpoint the last lunch with a business colleague or client that was just—well, lunch with talking—I guess I’m pretty lucky. At MFX Partners, our meetings and brainstorming sessions are typically technology free. Instead we use whiteboards and paper to visualize our ideas—free of interruptions. Reason being: so we can have natural conversations and brainstorming sessions using the stuff in our heads.
Tjan agrees, saying, “As the fast food movement has seen an opposing slow food movement take hold and shape, I predict we’ll soon see a similar desire for putting down for a moment all the “information enhancements” that come with mobile, digital-sparring tools… Even those of us who fund, embrace, and love technology may want to push for this…Because the free flow of ideas is more important to us than technology.”
From where I’m sitting this guys has got a point. After all, while stats and facts are vital to fine-tuning presentation and business proposals, big ideas can be choked when critiqued and over-analyzed during the ideation stage. That’s why our Design Thinking method encourages non-judgmental collaboration to open our minds to free thinking.
For more, read Tjan’s full article on the need for natural conversation—without technological interruptions.
Tags: cue ball design thinking, cue ball innovation, design thinking process, design thinking strategy, design thinking tips, harvard business review design thinking, harvard business review innovation
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posted by Brenton on September 13th, 2010
A recent issue of Psychology Today ran an interesting article that claimed there are as many introverts as extroverts in the world.
As a card carrying introvert, and as a guy who likes to understand what makes people tick, I think I have can shed some worthwhile insight into how introverts and extroverts play out in the workplace—and beyond.
We’ve all been witness to misunderstandings and tension resulting of the differences between introverts and extroverts.I think, that a little awareness can bring out the best in all of us—and I think we can actually use our differences to find new ways of thinking within our collaborative teams.
INTROVERTS vs. EXTROVERTS: WHAT MAKES THEM TICK
Introverts are collectors of concepts. They are energized by solitude.
vs…
Extroverts, who are collectors of connections. They are energized by social situations.
Introverts are gifted observers, listeners, analyzers, synthesizers. They make deep connections, however, they need quiet to think.
While…
Extroverts are gifted thinkers on their feet. These naturally energize people have active engagement in ideas, stories, etc.
I could go on forever about these differences, but I haven’t yet got to my main point. However, for more on the differences between introverts and extroverts you can read The Introverts Advantage, take the Myers Briggs test or Google it and find a free test online.
DESIGN THINKING INTROVERTS
Design Thinking is a core process for how Design Changes and it’s partner agency, MFX Partners solves client problems. This collaborative, dynamic methodology that starts with problem or need identification, deep understanding of the audience and generating solutions to solve the problems identified.
What I’ve noticed is that introverts tend to excel at certain times within the design thinking process—while at other times they don’t (and even come across as disengaged). However, I think by identifying where different personality types can best contribute boosts the power of the team and problem solving process.
Introverts excel at observational research and interviewing people because they are wired to listen and dig deeper for understanding. They are also extremely gifted at analyzing options and grounding ideas with facts and proof.
However, brainstorming is a key technique that extroverts tend to excel at because they can think quickly on their feet. So how do we create the space for introverts to excel so they can be valuable parts of the proccess?
To involve introverts in design thinking, it’s best to give them information in advance to prime. Also, providing an outlet after brainstorming sessions to share ideas that surface after they have had time to think on their own (this is extremely common in introverts as well) with discussion or community boards. Extended collaboration will help introverts to think and write out their ideas—and still feel like valuable members of the group.
An ongoing awareness and appreciation of personality differences will help maximize the effectiveness of any team. Personally, I don’t believe that introverts are seeking revenge as the magazine article title suggests, but rather they are seeking acceptance and the space needed to fully contribute to solving problems that make a difference in the world.
Regardless of if you’re an introvert or extrovert, wouldn’t you agree?
Tags: design thinking extroverts, design thinking introverts, design thinking process, design thinking strategy, myers briggs personality test, psychology today magazine
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One Calendar with Social Networking Powers
